Atomic Action
Electricity is fundamentally created when these negatively charged subatomic particles jump from one atom to another
What are electrons?
This is what "DC" stands for when discussing the steady, single-direction current that powers flashlights and cell phones
What is Direct Current?
his is the general scientific name given to any material, like copper or steel, that allows electricity to travel through it smoothly and easily
What is a conductor?
This term describes how much electrical power a specific appliance or light bulb is actively using up
What are watts?
This blinding, natural form of electric current is super-heated, reaching temperatures that are actually hotter than the surface of the sun
What is lightning?
This is the term for a continuous loop of moving electrons
What is electric current?
This is what "AC" stands for when discussing current that switches and reverses its directional path many times every single second
What is Alternating Current?
This is the general scientific term for any material that actively blocks or prevents the physical movement of electrical charges
What is an insulator?
This term describes the actual speed or velocity at which electrons are actively traveling through an active wire path
What are amps (amperes)?
Lightning occurs naturally when small, swirling bits of this material bump into each other inside a storm cloud to build up massive friction charges
What is ice?
This type of electricity occurs when electrons build up on an object due to friction and then suddenly jump to another object, like your hand hitting a metal doorknob
What is static electricity?
Alternating Current (AC) travels through long power lines over roads and fields to your home directly from these massive electricity production facilities
What are power plants?
Because water, trees, and living things act as conductors, this is the safest place for humans to stay during a violent electrical storm
What is inside (a building/home)?
This term describes how much total electrical force or push power is available in a circuit for an appliance to utilize
What is voltage (volts)?
This famous American Founding Father flew a kite with a metal key attached during a thunderstorm to prove that lightning is a form of natural electricity
Who was Benjamin Franklin?
This fun static trick causes a literal hair-raising experience because the rubber object picks up extra electrons, attracting your hair
What is rubbing a balloon on your head?
Unlike a regular battery, this chemical power source combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce a direct current without ever needing to be plugged in to recharge
What is a fuel cell?
These two specific flexible insulation materials are wrapped around household electrical wires to ensure humans don't get shocked when touching them
What are plastic and rubber?
Mounted safely to utility boxes or neighborhood power poles, this device acts as a regulator to ensure the exact right amount of voltage flows safely into your home's main line
What is a transformer?
This ancient group of people is credited with first discovering the concept of static electricity all the way back in 600 BC
Who were the Ancient Greeks?
Giant magnets inside a power plant generator spin to create a magnetic field, which forces electrons to travel through this specific type of highly conductive metal wire loop
What is copper wire?
These flat, glass-covered black rectangles use natural photons from the sun to kick electrons loose and generate an instant direct current loop
What are solar cells (or solar panels)?
To maximize current flow and minimize resistance, you should build your electrical grid using wires that have these two physical structural features
What are shorter and thicker wires?
If a sudden surge of too much current rushes into your house all at once, it will trip a switch inside this safety box to cut off the grid and prevent electrical fires
What is a circuit breaker (or fuse box)?
Archaeologists in the 1930s shocked the world by discovering ancient artifacts from old Roman historical sites that look exactly like modern versions of this portable chemical power cell
What are ancient batteries?